Solo
by Britedark
Summary: How does Kagome cope with her separation from her fuedal-era companions for three years? Bits and pieces written for LiveJournal prompts. #7: Voices in Her Head - Kagome's friends want her to spend more time with them.
1. The Night of No Moon Watch

_**Disclaimer:**__ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

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_**Author's Note:**_

Welcome to the collection "Solo." This set will be made up of pieces written about Kagome, that take place during her high-school years, when she was separated from her companions in the fuedal era. Most pieces will be inspire by prompts on various LiveJournal communities. Enjoy!

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**The Night of No-Moon Watch**

She tried to make her heavy load of homework use up her time, distract her from memories. For the honor of her family, she must not just pass her high-school classes, but do well.

Once, she had paid no attention to the moon. It was only an occasional light in the sky; it's cultural and scientific particulars of no greater concern to her, than her grandfather's fairy tales.

Now, she could not forget it. Her eyes searched for the moon symbols on every calendar page. Outside at night, she looked for it, whether merest sliver or full circle. And this night, though a major test loomed, she could not stop being aware that it was _that _night. Her eyes refused to follow the text, seeing only the black circle in the corner of the day.

Restless, edgy, she finally took a break. Wrapping a blanket around her, she tiptoed out of the darkened house. Familiarity and light scattering from the unsleeping city surrounding her made it simple to make her way to the tree. Climbing over the low, protective fence, she leaned against the tree, one hand resting against the bark under the scar.

_Inuyasha,_ she thought. _Are you all right? Are you safe? Are you with our friends? _She glanced up through the currently-bare limbs of Goshinboku towards the dark sky, knowing, that, no matter how long she watched, that even if she located the handful of stars too brilliant to be obscured by city lights, she would never see the moon. Not this night.

Looking away, she leaned her forehead against the tree. _I wish you could tell me, old tree, _she thought. _Is Inuyasha all right? Is he happy? Will I ever_—

She cut the last thought off. This was her world, not the other one. Only this world mattered: must matter. But—

—if only she could know.

The ancient tree's upper branches creaked slightly. For a moment, something warm seemed to wisp past her outstretched fingers, and something, for a brief moment, seemed to wrap around her, as if to embrace.

_Safe. Safe. Safe and well._

A shudder shivered through her, dissolving the tension in her neck and shoulders. Kagome breathed in the cold, sharp air, then let it out.

_Thank-you, old friend._

She gathered the blanket around her, and returned to her room.

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**Author's Note:** This is the original version of the word-limited version submitted to the "First Tweak" LiveJournal community for the prompt, "Moon Watching," on September 4, 2010. It took first place.


	2. Reassurance

_**Disclaimer:**__ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

**Reassurance**

Mama Higurashi turned from the stove as Kagome entered the kitchen. "Oh, Kagome, you look wonderful!"

Kagome looked away, fidgeting with the buttons on her new uniform. "I'm—a little scared."

"Oh, honey!" Turning the heat off, Mama went and hugged her. "You'll be fine."

"But, I've already missed a whole week of classes, and high school is supposed to be a lot harder than middle school," whispered Kagome, as she leaned against her mother. "What if I can't catch up? I barely made it in at all, and you've spent so much money: on the laptop, the phone, the clothes—what if I fail?"

"You won't fail." Mama's response was instant and certain. "I know you won't."

"But—

"I know you can catch up." Mama gently overrode her daughter's protest. "If you could pass the entrance exams, despite the time you spent in the past, you think you can't make up a single week of regular school? With your friends' help?" She pulled away a bit, and cupped Kagome's face in her hand.

"Even if you can't, Kagome—I'm still proud of you. So is father. You've accomplished so much this last year: your time in the past, making it into high school. We're proud of you."

"Really?" whispered Kagome, tears trembling.

"Very proud," Mama amended. Smiling, she folded her daughter in a hug again. "Now, sit down while I finish breakfast. You need a good meal to start the day."

Kagome sat, reassured. Relaxing, she smiled a little. "Thank-you, mama."

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**Author's Note: **This piece was written for the prompt "Class" for the Issekiwa community on LiveJournal. It was originally posted on September 30, 2010. It placed third.


	3. Safely Sleep

_**Disclaimer:**__ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

**Safely Sleep**

She sat up abruptly, sweating, shaking in horror, clapping a hand over her mouth to silence her whimpers. So dark! So alone! She was lost in unending night, forever alone, save for that taunting, malevolent voice:

_Make a wish._

_Make a wish._

I won't!

"Hey, sis—you okay!"

Kagome opened her eyes. In the dim light filtering through the curtains, she saw Souta peering through the open door. "You were crying out," he elaborated. "You kept saying 'no, I won't.'"

She forced herself to take a calming breath. "It was just a dream. I'm fine."

"Sounded like that nightmare again, to me," he said. "Should I call Mama?"

"No!" Her hands fisted in the blankets. "Just—just go back to bed, Souta. I'll be fine."

"You sure!"

"Yes! I can handle it! Just go back to sleep, Sota!"

"O-okay, sis."

The door closed, and Kagome flopped down onto her side, trying not to cry. How long were the nightmares going to last? It'd been weeks! All that time in ancient Japan, getting chased by monsters, getting possessed, getting clawed, getting bloody, eating fish and lizards, and never once had she had nightmares about it all. But that last event, stranded in the empty darkness…

Getting up, Kagome went to her desk and turned on the lamp. She stared at the closed laptop and her books. She could study. Or try to. But, she'd already completed all her assignments, and she'd be a wreck in the morning, if she stayed up very long.

If only Inuyasha were here! If only he could save her from the nightmares, as he'd saved her from that empty hell! If only she could drift to sleep, like all those times beside the crackling fire, feeling safe because she knew Inuyasha would never let anything harm her…

She thought of something.

... ... ...

Kagome curled up on her bed, light flickering from opened laptop's screen saver. A soft crackling poured gently from the computer's speakers, and she made herself smile, remembering. Golden eyes were watching her from above, promising safety. She needs fear nothing, not even her tests. She was safe … safe ...

She slept.

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**Author's Note:** This drabble was written for the prompt "Nightmare", for the FirstTweak community on LiveJournal. The short (250 word) form was posted on October 31, 2010.


	4. To Always Be There

_**Disclaimer:**__ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

**To Always Be There**

I shot an arrow into the air,  
It fell to earth, I knew not where;  
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight  
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,  
It fell to earth, I knew not where;  
For who has sight so keen and strong,  
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak  
I found the arrow, still unbroke;  
And the song, from beginning to end,  
I found again in the heart of a friend.

- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

She had been trying very hard not to think about the past.

She had enough to keep her mind occupied—starting a week late did that. Not only did she have a week's worth of material to make up, but her science and math teachers, concerned about her barely adequate scores in those two areas, had provided extra problem sets, and had both indicated that they would be willing to recommend good tutors. She had thanked them politely, of course, and made fresh vows to conquer that material; for how could she ask her mother for yet more money, when she had already done so much?

The extra problems at least gave her excuses to shorten the excursions to WacDonald's or the shopping center, and lessened the time that she had to keep reassuring her friends that she was fine, now, thank-you.

And filling her head, before going to bed, with the minutiae of advanced algebra and basic chemistry did seem to crowd out the memories she was trying to—if not forget, then at least put aside.

But this night, she had finished her assignments early. Not ready to face sleep and haunted dreams, Kagome looked through her assignments. Ah, there was one: an extra-credit assignment in English, to translate a poem, both a literal version, and a poetic one. Kagome doubted her ability to create an even halfway decent poetic translation, but this wouldn't harm her grade, so why not try? She reached for her American Literature book, and turned to the page indicated in the assignment sheet. Pulling a piece of notebook paper closer and checking the lead of her pencil, she started the translation.

_I shot an arrow into the air,  
_

I certainly did that, the first time…

_It fell to earth, I knew not where;_

That's for sure. Annoyed Inuyasha, just because I was somehow Kikyo's reincarnation, I was supposed to inherit her skills as well as her soul?

_For, so swiftly it flew, the sight  
Could not follow it in its flight._

I bet Inuyasha could watch it. I remember that time with Kagura, and he yelled at me to aim at him. I was so scared I would hit him, but he just stood there, and dodged just enough to be missed. .

Kagome shut her eyes, and clenched her jaws against the surge of memories. No, she would not wallow in memories! Her time in the past was over, she had to accept it, to move forward. Not to forget—she refused to forget. But, she wouldn't let it stop her having a normal life again. She was an ordinary high-school student, going to a good but not prestigious high-school, and she was satisfied with that. It was what she wanted.

She made herself continue with the next verse, which gave her less trouble. Though she couldn't help wonder, if her entire adventure were considered a song, then who in the modern age, beyond her family, would ever know of that song's existence? Outside the shrine itself, had the actions of her and her friends had any remembered impact on history? Certainly not in her history books, but then, who believed in the existence of youkai these days?

_I breathed a song into the air,  
It fell to earth, I knew not where;  
For who has sight so keen and strong,  
That it can follow the flight of song?_

The third verse loomed.

_Long, long afterward, in an oak  
I found the arrow, still unbroke;_

I found an unbroken arrow, long after it was fired. Did Kikyo try to watch her final arrow; did she see it strike? Or did she shoot it, like the one I shot against the Shikon no Tama, _knowing, willing_ the arrow to go as it must, to strike through his heart…

_And the song, from beginning to end,  
I found again in the heart of a friend.  
_

A friend. What if my youkai friends still lived? What if Shippo survived, came to see me? He would remember, right? Could Inuyasha live this long, he is half-youkai—no, no, no! I couldn't ask that of him: expect him to live five more centuries, trying to keep his memories alive, and maybe most of it alone again, once Miroku and Sango died? No, I couldn't ask that of him! I'd rather he found someone else to love, even if it meant forgetting me. I don't want him to be lonely. I promised I'd stay with him, but now I can't, the well is closed, I broke my promise …

... ... ...

"Kagome? What's wrong?"

She looked up, trying to wipe tears away. "I—I just remembered. I—I promised—after I was so upset with Inuyasha, because he still loved Kikyo and would do anything to protect her … I tried to tell myself not to go back, because it hurt so much, but I had to go back, and not just because I had shards…. I—I told myself, I'd always be with him … but now I'm here, and the well doesn't work anymore…"

"Oh, Kagome." Her mother crossed the room and hugged her gently. Turning in her seat, Kagome wrapped her arms around her mother and broke into sobs, for not the first time. It hurt so badly!

When she quit crying, Kagome and her were sitting side by side on her bed, her mother's arms still around her. Vaguely embarrassed, she tried to pull away. "I should get some more studying in," she muttered.

"Nonsense. It's late, you really should be in bed. But, if you're not ready for sleep, neither am I." Producing a handkerchief, she blotted Kagome's cheeks, and smiled. "I bought a different brand of tea today. Shall we try it? And you can tell me more about that time, when you realized you were in love with Inuyasha."

Kagome looked away. "I—can't," she whispered. "I—I'm trying not to think about it. I have to concentrate on school. I have to…"

"Nonsense." Fingers touched her face, and gently made her look back. "You don't want to spend all your time thinking about your loss, Kagome, but you can't ignore it, either. When your father died, I had a very good friend. You remember her—Yoshida Asuki? She came over almost every day for several weeks, helping me with Sota, cooking lunch. She insisted that I talk with her about Hideki—not how he had died, but how he had lived. How we had lived. I know you can't talk with your friends about this, Kagome, but can you talk to me? It does help; to have someone listen."

Kagome looked away. "There was so much … I couldn't tell you. I—I didn't want you to worry…"

Her mother smiled. "I never wanted my mother to worry, either. Though, of course, she did." Her hug tightened a bit. "And you made it through, so I don't have to worry now, do I?" Her eyes crinkled with a silent laugh. Kagome found herself responding with a tiny smile. "Come and have tea?"

"Okay, mama." She pushed off the bed and wavered a little, but her mother's arm was there to catch her. As she was _always_ there. The young woman leaned a little into the elder, wrapping an arm around her waist, comforted at being the daughter to such a mother.

"Thanks, mama."

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** Author's Note: **This one-shot was written for the FirstTweak commumity, for the theme "I Shot An Arrow." Since that happens to be the first line of the poem at the top of this piece, I decided to try my hand with a song-fic. This story was originally posted on March 12, 2011.


	5. Tryout

**__****Disclaimer:**_ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied. _

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**Tryout**

Kagome answered the questions without really listening. No, she hadn't decided on a club. No, she wasn't interested in tennis. Soccer, no.

She didn't say she just wanted to go home study.

The flutter of a black sleeve caught her attention. Turning her head, she saw a young woman hurrying towards an open gate. "That's Kamichi," sniffed Eri. "Thinks she's better than anyone in the school, just because she made the archery finals last year."

"Archery?" Kagome stared at the open gate.

"Yeah—what about the archery club, Kagome?" asked Yuri. "They say the instructor is hot."

No! she shouted silently. She wasn't interested in touching a bow ever again!

And yet, she found herself at the gate. The instructor paused, smiled, and told them they could watch as long as they stayed back and were silent. Several girls protested, but he overrode them.

Kagome listened and watched, mesmerized as the girls aimed and shot their arrows under the instructor's watchful eye. Her fingers tingled. She remembered her first, wavering shots. She remembered a bow-shaped kitsune, and a bow which shattered in her hands. She remembered the feel of the sacred bow, when she had finally understood Hitomi's words.

She suddenly wondered, how well she could do without a magic bow and a miko's powers.

The instructor asked whether any of them would like to try. "Go on!" Her friends whispered, shoving her forward. "You haven't found anything else to join!"

"I—"

He smiled at her.

"I'll—try."

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**Author's Note:** This piece was originally published at the LiveJournal community FirstTweak for the prompt 'Sleeve,' on May 31, 2011. It has the distinction of having drawn the most reviews ever for a LJ post! It also took first place. (And I suppose that I will have to write a sequel one day...)


	6. Birthday Wishes

_**Disclaimer:** This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

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**Birthday Wishes**

On the night before her fifteenth birthday, Kagome woke up, and saw that it was close to midnight. She watched the illuminated face of the clock. At midnight, made a wish, for a real boyfriend.

On the night before her sixteenth birthday, a sleepless Kagome stared at the red numbers of her alarm clock. As they flicked from 11:59 to 00:00, Kagome closed her aching, burning eyes, and wished that Inuyasha would find contentment and happiness.

On the night before her seventeenth birthday, Kagome glanced up from studying and saw that it was one minute into her birth day. Smiling to herself, she extended her arms and stretched. Remembering her last two birthdays, she shook her head, but made a wish anyway: she wished that Miroku and Sango were happy and were raising a family.

On the night before her eighteenth birthday, Kagome was catching a late train, having stayed late at school for a concert in which Ayumi was performing. Checking her phone for messages, she saw that it was midnight, and now her birthday. She sighed, closed her phone, and wished she could figure out what she was going to do with her life, once school was finished.

On the night before her nineteenth birthday—if she had her calculations correct—Kagome was nestled against her beloved, seated on a cliff overlooking the valley. The moon was full and high. Remembering, she laughed a little.

"What?"

"Just remembering—the last four years, I made a wish at midnight, before my birthday. And you know what? Every one of those wishes came true."

Green fire glimmered briefly in his eyes as he turned to look down. "Really? So, what's your wish this year?"

She smiled. "I don't need wishes, now." And pulled him down for a kiss.

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**Author's Note:** This piece was written for the prompt "Midnight Wishes" for the "At First Tweak" LiveJournal community. It was originally posted on September 4th, 2011. It took second place. (11/14/2011)


	7. Voices In Her Head

_**Disclaimer:** This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

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**Voices in Her Head**

Practice had run late, thanks to her senpai's creativeness in finding more chores than usual. So, Kagome was a bit surprised to see her trio of friends waiting for her as she left the showers. "Still here?" she asked. "I thought your clubs all ended up an hour ago."

"We're waiting for you, silly."

Ayumi was the only one who didn't roll her eyes, giving instead a quiet smile. "It's been two months since you missed any school. I thought we ought to celebrate that."

Kagome blinked and thought a moment. That long? Pain went through her, as she realized it was over two months since she had last seen Inuyasha. She managed a smile. "Thanks, but—"

"No buts!" Eri interrupted, hands on hips. "There's no tests coming up in any of your classes for over a week, we've hardly seen more of you than we did last year, when you were sick so much, and are we your best friends or not?"

"Of course you are!" Kagome responded, gripping the strap of her bookbag. "It's just—" She looked away as her eyes burned.

"It's just you still miss your boyfriend," Ayumi's voice was quiet. Kagome look at her. "That's why you're devoting so much time to studying, and to the archery club. You're trying not to think about him."

Kagome nodded, relieved and touched by the insight of the quietest of her three friends. "Mostly," she said. "I want to do well in school; I don't want to disappoint my family, especially after last year, and all the money Mother's spent on the laptop and stuff. But, yeah. When I really get into studying, or I'm concentrating on the target, then I forget for a while."

She didn't mention another reason she had found a devotion to archery. It was a tie back to the last year. When she looked to see the result of her shot, she could hear Inuyasha's voice, jeering or encouraging. She could see Kikyo's cool, composed face, and her nod of approval, when the arrow struck the center. She wasn't sure why she should be imagining Kikyo's reaction at all; yet, it felt-right. She wanted to believe and that Kikyo's spirit approved of her efforts, and improvement.

"Well, tonight you're going to devote your time to us, and to having a good time!" Eri gave her a mock glower. "Right, Kagome?"

"Okay." Kagome's reply was meek, but she found herself smiling, as she realized that she did want to spend some time with her friends. "Just let me call Momma, okay?" She dug through the outside pocket of the bag for her phone.

_Silly wench. How can I be happy, if you ain't off having fun sometimes?_

Kagome mentally shook her head at herself. She really ought to stop imagining Inuyasha commenting on her activities all the time.

And yet...she didn't want those imagined voices to stop.

They were all she had left, besides memories.

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**Author's Note: ** This was written for the prompt "Devotion", for the LiveJournal community Inuyasha Fanfiction: A Drabble Community. It was originally posted on February 20th, 2012.


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